RACING AHEAD: Looking ahead to Cheltenham’s Open Meeting

Racing pundit Tony McCormick from www.irishbigracetrends.com beforetheoff.com and racing radio station racingfm.com presents his weekly column and continues his horses to follow.

Our trainers to follow in November got off to a mixed start during the week with Paul Nicholls sending out two winners at 3/1 and 5/2 from six runners, while Venetia Williams has started the month in fine form with Saroque (10/1), Pepite Rose (10/1) and Bobble Buru (5/2) all winning well from nine runners sent out on to the track.

On Monday, Nicholls provided a 5/2 winner at Carlisle in the shape of Silsol, with Williams chipping in with a 7/2 winners to complete the double as Rosa Fleet came home in front by three-and-a-half lengths at Southwell under Liam Treadwell in the Mares’ Handicap Chase.

irishbigracetrends.com this week will be looking forward to the Open Meeting at Cheltenham, which starts on Friday. We will be covering the meeting in the company of our Cheltenham ‘Insiders’, Andy Richmond (Racing UK), Tony Ennis (At The Races), Paul Ferguson (Jumpers To Follow and Racing Ahead), Dean Ryan (Racing FM), Conor O’Hehir (RTE, Racing FM) and Racing writing legend Tony Stafford.

Andy, a regular presenter on Racing UK, has been a punter for as long as he can remember and is a real sports nut. He turned this passion into a full-time trading career on the betting exchanges such as Betfair. His number one sport for trading is horse racing and that has provided him with steady profits every year for over 10 years.

Tony Ennis has progressed from an avid fan of racing to a first-class presenter and commentator. Tony moved to SIS and then began working for At the Races in August 2004. His work at At the Races involves presenting shows and producing domestic and international commentaries.

Author of Jumpers To Follow, which is now in its ninth year of publication, Paul Ferguson has built up a series of close relationships with trainers, both here in Great Britain and across the Irish Sea. While researching his book over the years, he has unearthed such future stars as Hurricane Fly, as a novice, Sprinter Sacre, Simonsig and Faugheen.

As the name suggests, Conor is a member of a racing Royal Family. We all know Racing Post contributor Tony O’Hehir and will always remember the great commentator, Michael O’Hehir. Conor is making his way in TV and radio, being a regular on RTE and Racing FM.

Dean is founder of Racing FM and I’m pleased to count Tony Stafford as a great friend of around 15 years now and he had no hesitation in accepting my invitation to join the team. 30 years at The Daily Telegraph, Tony has met them all.

For more details on the Cheltenham ‘Insiders’ insight pack, go to irishbigracetrends.com